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Canary Wharf, London's business centre
London Business School’s joint Executive MBA (EMBA) with Columbia Business School has topped the Financial Times 2008 annual ranking of the world’s top MBAs for working professionals for the first time.
The EMBA-Global, as the joint degree is called, is joined in the top 15 ranked programmes with three other EMBAs based in London:
- The Trium programme, a joint degree between the London School of Economics, HEC Paris and New York University’s Stern School of Business, ranked third best in the world
- London Business School’s own EMBA programme comes in at number nine
- City University’s EMBA, taught at Cass Business School, is at number 13 up from 18 last year
Business schools based in London continue to make a strong showing in the Financial Times ranking. This is partly due to the increase in salary that students can expect after taking the degree. Participants within the EMBA-Global reported a 110% increase in salary while Trium participants reported a 106% increase.
The FT ranking of EMBA programmes measures career progression and research undertaken within each business school as well as salary increase. The fact that more top programmes are based in London demonstrates that London is a business education hub.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Paramedic students studying in London are using Second Life, an internet-based virtual world, to perform as virtual paramedics to assess and treat patients.
Paramedics in Second Life
Students are able to test skills such as dressing wounds, administering drugs and using equipment such as oxygen masks and an electrocardiogram (ECG). After assessing the patient and giving emergency treatment, the students decide how to get the patient into the ambulance and set a GPS device to take them to the hospital. Once they have reached the hospital, they submit handover notes on the patients, which are emailed to their real-life tutor for feedback.
The Paramedic Science degree is based at the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, a partnership between St George’s, University of London and Kingston University. The course has a strong practical focus to solving problems based on real-life scenarios.
Fiona Cropp, a second year paramedic student who has tested the application says: “It’s a really useful tool. It’s much better to actually perform treatments rather than just talk about them. Everyone is online at the same time so you can bounce ideas off each other and make an informed decision. I had never used Second Life before, but I found it really easy to get on with.”
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
(source: London Games Festival)
The London Games Festival returns this year, showcasing hundreds of events and mind-blowing entertainment from the world of computer games.
The festival opens on 24 October and puts on 70 consumer and industry events to celebrate the UK’s position as a gaming giant, placed only third in the world after the USA and Japan. “We wanted to elevate video games as pieces of art, not just simply products,” explains Duncan Best, director of the London Games Festival.
Visitors can enjoy a staggering range of entertainment including live concerts, art installations and professional gaming tournaments. Events this year include Video Games Live, the biggest live performance in video games and the Eurogamer Expo bringing you face to face with all of the biggest games release on all formats.
“The capital is an entertainment superpower and leads the world in terms of creative gaming, and the degree courses here reflect that,” Duncan continued. “There are also lots of opportunities for students to talk to the industry at the festival’s careers fair and free events.”
Read insight (page 13) to read more about the vast array of digital courses at London universities.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Trafalgar Square celebrations
Thousands of people gathered on London’s streets to celebrate the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic success of Team GB’s athletes.
Team GB’s haul of 47 medals in Beijing makes them the most successful modern-era British Olympians ever. There was also success for the ParalympicsGB team who won 102 medals, including 42 golds, to finish second in the table behind China.
London universities have been playing their part too. An amazing one in four of all Team GB medals were won by a London student or alumni. Between them, London’s universities nurtured and trained eleven Olympic medallists and two Paralympic medallists.
The winning London students and alumni at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games were:
Gold
- Christine Ohuruogu, Women’s 400m (University College London)
- Rebecca Romero, Cycling – Individual Pursuit (St Mary’s University College)
- Helene Raynsford: Gold in the single sculls rowing (Royal Holloway, University of London)
- Sophie Christiansen: Two golds and a silver in Equestrian dressage (Royal Holloway, University of London)
Silver
- Philips Idowu, Triple Jump (Brunel University)
- Frances Houghton, Rowing – Women’s Quadruple Sculls (King’s College London)
- Katherine Grainger, Rowing – Women’s Quadruple Sculls (King’s College London)
- Annabel Vernon, Rowing – Women’s Quadruple Sculls (King’s College London)
- Tom Stallard, Rowing – Men’s Eights (Brunel University)
- Heather Fell, Modern Pentathlon – Individual Competition (Brunel University)
Bronze
- Elise Laverick, Rowing – Women’s Double Sculls (Guildhall School of Music and Drama)
- Matt Wells, Rowing – Men’s Double Sculls (St Mary’s University College)
- William Fox-Pitt, Equestrian – Eventing Team Competition (Goldsmiths, University of London),
Source: BUCS
Universities are now preparing for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by investing in their sports facilities. Seven universities are bidding to host training camps at the Games. Click on the links below to read about the sports facilities available at each participating university:
- Brunel
- London Metropolitan University
- St Mary’s University College
- London Southbank University
- University of Westminster Hockey and Fencing.
- University of East London
Read Sport City on page 16 of the latest edition of insight magazine to discover how London’s universities are training future champions and ensuring the city remains a centre of sports excellence to the London 2012 Olympic Games and beyond.
Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Sun Yuan and Peng Yu at the Saatchi Gallery
The new Saatchi Gallery is monumental in both size and ambition. Laid over four floors, the 70,000 sq. ft. art gallery opened in Chelsea last week with an exhibition of contemporary Chinese artists called, The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art.
Saatchi has brought together a staggering collection of challenging contemporary art from across China. The Beijing-based duo Sun Yuan and Peng Yu have taken over the basement floor with life-sized sculptures of pensioners resembling aged world leaders sitting in wheelchairs that whiz around, clattering into each other in a mock skirmish (pictured). While Zhang Huan has created huge canvases that release a pungent aroma because they are made with incense ash gathered from temples in Shanghai.
Charles Saatchi is famous for spotting new talent. His Sensation exhibition at London’s Royal Academy in 1997 launched the career of London art students:
- Damien Hirst – alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
- Tracy Emin – alumni of Royal College of Art
- The brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman – alumni of Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication and Royal College of Art
In the last ten years both the collector and the artists have achieved phenomenal success, as demonstrated by the recent Sotheby’s sale of Hirst’s art work for £111 million.
It wasn’t long ago that the market for contemporary Chinese art was relatively unknown, especially outside China, but I predict this will not be the last time we hear from this group of challenging artists.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
The Old Naval College, Greenwich (Source: Visit London)
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has been awarded £5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund in addition to the substantial gift of £20 million from international shipping magnate and philanthropist Sammy Ofer.
The funds will help provide a new, state of the art library and archive facilities complemented by digital resources and a special exhibitions gallery.
The renovated Museum will open in 2012, the year of the Museum’s 75th anniversary and the London Olympics. It will be another welcome attraction in Greenwich – already home to the Royal Observatory, Queen’s House and the Old Navel College, which is home to the University of Greenwich and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Greenwich’s maritime links stretch back hundreds of years and it is this connection that made London the largest port of its time, trading throughout the world. The city’s maritime past is still evident with the courses taught within London’s universities.
Students can study at the Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass Business School, part of City University London, or enroll on the University of Greenwich’s MBA in Maritime Management. You can search for other maritime courses here.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
Source: Mastercard/The Economist
London recently topped the list of the leading centres for global commerce. The Index, compiled by MasterCard, covers 75 of the world’s top cities.
The MasterCard Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index, an annual research initiative designed to evaluate and rank how major cities compare in performing critical functions that connect markets and commerce around the world.
Each city was rated in the seven areas of:
- Legal and political framework
- Economic stability
- Ease of doing business
- Financial flow
- Business centre
- Knowledge creation and information flow
- Liveability
London significantly outperformed its rivals in most areas and came top because of its flexible operating environment for business, strong financial connections and exceptionally high levels of international trade.
You can search for commerce and finance courses to study in London here.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
(Source: University of East London)
University of East London (UEL) students enjoyed free massages during Freshers’ Week when a group of physiotherapy, health science and complementary therapy graduates launched a new stress management service for students, staff and local residents.
Itayi Chandigere, Kristine Ulozaite, Beth Sandland, Supinder Chana and Margaret Osbourne launched their stress management clinic in state-of-the-art facilities at the Centre for Clinical Education at UEL. The group have decided to combine their knowledge of physiotherapy, health science and complimentary therapy to provide an affordable massage and rehabilitation service.
Itayi, who is now studying UEL’s MSc in Public Health said, “We’ve already had a lot of interest from UEL staff and students and we’re looking forward to helping to take the stress and strain out of every day life for people.”
Future plans include incorporating other therapies such as physiotherapy, Pilates and sports massage therapy. The new clinic will be available on campus at regular times through the week providing an invaluable service to stressed-out students.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
(Source: Visit London)
The annual World University Rankings are out and London remains in the lead with four of the city’s universities ranked in the top 100. Imperial College London and University College London are both in the top 10 universities with King’s College London and London School of Economics joining them in the top 100.
No other city in the world has as many top ranked universities in the top 100, providing further evidence that London is the world’s knowledge capital and the best place to study.
London’s closest rivals in the ranking include Hong Kong and Boston, who both have three universities listed followed by Paris, Singapore, Beijing, Munich, New York, Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo who all have two universities ranked in the top 100.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
London Business School has launched a ground-breaking degree programme aimed at top graduates who have less than one year’s previous work experience and an undergraduate degree in a discipline other than business or management studies.
The new Masters in Management will welcome students from around the world for its first intake in August 2009 and is for students who wish to fast-track their career.
The full-time 11 month programme will consist of a range of modules including: Financial Tools; Accounting; Micro and Macro Economics; Markets and Marketing; and Strategy. The programme, delivered at the School’s campus overlooking Regent’s Park in central London, will also provide career workshops designed with input from top recruiters to offer graduates a unique insight in to the marketplace for internships and jobs.
Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk
London Business School
“London is a city where different cultures and thoughts meet. Living in this city, I never feel bored.
